Happy Halloween!!

Just a quick little post to say "Happy Halloween!" from the cutest little skeleton on the block. I just dare you to find a cuter one. I took this picture this morning after getting Boo dressed in his skelle sleeper.

Is it just me or does he look really grown up in this picture? I mean, he doesn't look like a tiny little baby. Maybe it's the black. Maybe it's the sitting up with the pumpkin. I don't know.

But I do know he's the cutest little guy.

Work is dead quiet. It's normally quiet around here on a Friday, but it's almost like it's 4:45 on a Friday. And it's been this way all day. I'm guessing between engineers out on projects and people out for the Phillies Parade (on now as I type), that only 1/3 to 1/2 of the people are actually here in the office. Amazingly, only two people from my group are out. It's so quiet it's spooky.

Well, I've got more reporting odds and ends to clean up and get out of my hair.

Peace to all and may your Halloween's be fun-filled and enjoyable.

Pumpkin Pi and Other Fall Clasics

First off.....

WE WON!

(we'll be continuing this post in a light cyan, as I can't figure out how to get back to my "normal" color since it isn't on the pick list...)

Yes, that's right, Philadelphia finally has a championship in a major league sport for the first time in about 25 years, which is actually longer than I've been living in the region.  It's been 14 years (since I was a senior in high school) since the Phills went to the Series.  We've been so close, but so far for so many years, I'm not sure how the city will react.  I'm sure it'll be sheer chaos at work......

I have to admit, I didn't watch the game.  Nope, I only watched about 6 innings of the entire Phills playoff run this season.  It seemed to work better that way.  (I did enjoy the Ray's game I caught though...)

Ok, back to "normal" posting.  The picture at the top of the post is my entry for today's "Pumpkin carving and decorating contest" at work.  No, I didn't carve it, and technically, it's not even really a pumpkin.  But it is decorated, and looks like a pumpkin.

And it has my sense of humor.

Luckily I work with engineers, so hopefully some will at least understand, and a few will even chuckle.

Yes, I crocheted a Pumpkin Pi.

No, I didn't set out to make Pi.  I originally was going to make my pumpkin a traditional Jack-O-Lantern face.  But nothing I was trying this morning was working.  (Don't you just love how I don't finish things until the last minute??  Drives my Mom and my teachers in school crazy...)  So, inspiration hit and I made Pi.  I'm debating if I should take it in the pie tin or not.  I think I will, for those who are a bit math challenged.  (Or those who just don't get my sense of humor... which is most people *sigh*)

Anyhow, I'm off to get dressed.  (We're having a costume contest as well and since I have no "real" costume, I'm going to wear my hard hat and my many pocketed vest and call myself Wendy.  Anyone with children who were watching PBS about 4 or 5 years ago, know who I'm talking about...)

Peace to all and may dreams come true and your humor be appreciated.

Wild Weather

Well, can the weather get any weirder??

This picture is of Boo that GrammaSue took yesterday.  The face says it all.  Anyone who's following baseball knows that for the first time in World Series history, they stopped a game.  Well, more like put it on indefinite rain delay.  If they'd called the game after the 5th, the Phills would have won and we'd be planning a big party.  Now all kinds of chaos is breaking loose.

Not only did it rain like crazy last night, this morning it is snowing!

No, I don't have pictures.  I only have my camera phone with me and I can't get it to send out pictures for some reason.

On my drive down here, it was raining quite a bit.  The temp on the bank sign said 33 degrees.  There were some pretty solid rain drops.  By the time I got down here to work, it was snowing for real.  It has gotten quite heavy and is actually sticking.  They were calling for 3" in the Poconos, but nothing here.  What's really funny is that it's not snowing 15 miles north of here or about the same south of here.  It's just this one little area where hte conditions are just right.

It's a good thing GrammaSue brought up the snow suit yesterday that they bought Boo.  Luckily he and Daddy got a ride from Uncle Scott.  Unfortunately, Uncle Scott called about 3 minutes before getting there.  So Boo went to day care today in his sleeper and his snow suit.  Daddy did get a picture of Boo in the snow suit.  It's a little big on him.  I'll post that one tomorrow.

Boo also got something really cute in the mail yesterday.  He got a new dino from Nana in OK.  I got several pictures of Boo and his two dino buddies playing in the crib this morning.  They're still on the camera, but look for them tomorrow!

Anyhow, I've got to get back to work.  I'm feeling a little bit under the weather (haha) with a bit of a cold and it's almost the end of reporting month.... Can we say crazy???  (Actually, I need to run out for soft tissues as opposed to the sandpaper that is free around here and some cough drops...)

Peace to all and may your weather behave itself!

Birthdays and Philies!

Well, first a correction to my last post.  I said that Mel's birthday was Thursday the 23rd.  I was off by a few days.  Her birthday is actually the 26th.  The same as Nic.  So, Mel turned 12 and Nic turned 10 on the same day.

I'm currently writing this as I wait for the first pitch of game 5 of the World Series.  Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be writing a post saying that the Phils managed to pull it off and are the world champs.  That would be so awesome!

Anyhow, back to the weekend.  Mel's birthday was a lot of fun and quite chaotic as always.  I have a love/hate relationship with these events.  I love seeing the whole family, but it's always so loud and so much chaos.  Oh well.

We were supposed to go on a hay ride, but we had to cancel it because of the rain.  The same rain that delayed the Phils for almost 2 hours and made the game go until almost 2am, with a miracle win.  I'll have more pics up as soon as I finish going through them.

Work is hell right now.  There are three days left of the reporting month and I'm feeling every second weighing down on me.  I'll just leave it at that.

Well, the game is about to start, so I'm off!  I may post more about the weekend later, but I doubt it, it was pretty mellow overall.

Peace to all and may your team do well.*

*Unless they're the Rays......

Happy Birthday Mel!

Well, today is Mel's birthday.  (At least, I think it's today, not yesterday, but I could be off a day *sigh*.)  She's getting way too big, as you can see from this picture taken back in July at our "Welcome Boo" party.  There she is, with her little brother, who is 6-months older than Zoe.  (He turns 8 next week.)

Mel turns 12 today.

Where has the time gone?

What happened to my Little Bug?

She's all big now.  She's almost as tall as I am (no surprise there).  The dress she's wearing in this picture belonged to one of her "real" aunts.  She borrowed some of Kat's shorts and T-shirt later that day to run around in.

This is just so not fair.  I want my snugly little Bug back.

Oh well, it just reminds me that soon enough, I'll be saying the same thing about Boo.  I really don't want to think about that.  I just want to enjoy him in the moment, not worry about tomorrow or wish for yesterday.  (Actually, I lie, I wish all the time for the 1st or even 2nd week of August.  That was before I went back to work... *sigh* again.)

Anyhow, not sure what we're going to do for this birthday.  Mel wanted an "adult only" party at a really cool haunted hayride/haunted house.  Unfortunately, it was $40 a person and none of us has that kind of money at the moment.  (If I had an extra $80 this week, unfortunately, I'd be doing the adult thing of buying a fleece suit for Boo for weather too cool for just a light jacket but not cold enough for his snow suit that GrammaSue and PopPop are buying him and other needs... *sigh* for the third time...)  Hopefully we'll get a chance to see Mel this weekend.  And Ant next weekend.  I'm guessing one of the big reasons she wants a grownup party is the fact that since her brother's birthday is only a week after hers, she's tired of sharing.  I don't blame her.  It gets annoying sharing my birthday with Thanksgiving from time to time.

Well, other than Mel's birthday, nothing new.  I'm still up to my eyeballs in work.  Boo still loves his bouncer.  Gak's still enjoying the daddy thing, but has had a slow week at work.  I guess no news is good news.  We shall see.

Peace to all and may your loved ones not grow up too fast!

Bits and Bobs

You know, when I opened this page I had a post in mind.  Of course, now I have no idea what it was.  But for some reason, I just can't say "oops" and close the window and leave well enough alone.  I at the very least wanted to share this picture GrammaSue took last week.  Boo, exploring his toes.  He's getting bigger and bigger by the moment.  He's becoming so much more vocal.  He's adding more and more consenants to his vocabulary of sounds.  He's got some nice B's a few really nice rolling L's and the occasional M.

Anyhow, just checking in and saying hi.  I've got a few things bouncing around in my head, but nothing worth sharing at the moment.  They need a little more time to ferment and decide if they're going to become real ideas or just odd little things bumping around in my head.  (Yes, it's a busy, noisy, strange place in my little world.  I like it though... even if no one else really understands all the time...)

Well, I'm just rambling now, so I guess I'm off to find a book and get somesleep.

Pece to all and may you remember what you wanted to talk about.

Play Time!

Well, it's been a good weekend.  Saturday was busy.  After laundry, Boo and I came home and had a good day.  We played, he napped a bit, we played some more.  Then we went to pick up Daddy.

A few weeks back my friend Ellen at work gave me a visitor's coupon to BJ's Warehouse.  That was both a good and bad thing.  One thing with these places, you've got to know what you normally pay for things.  We found some really good prices, some average prices and some that were actually higher than what we've been paying.  What we found a great deal on was diapers.

Yep, that's right.  We found diapers for about a nickle a diaper less than what we've been paying.  I've been getting them for about $0.23 - $0.025 a diaper, but at BJs the same brand were only $0.19 a diaper!  I figure those savings alone will pay for the $40/year membership fee.  We also got a good deal on some other staples.  It's a good thing we don't have tons and tons of storage space.  That way I won't over buy.  I didn't buy anything we don't use, but... I've noticed that if we have lots of it, we don't seem to want it, but if there's not much, it goes fast.  Who knows?

After our big trip up to BJs, we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner and a quick stop at Target.  I had to buy bottle liners.  (They only had the 8oz ones at BJs, and weren't a lot cheaper anyhow.  Yes, we still use 4oz ones.)  The big purchase at Target was a wonderful thing for Boo.  We surprised him with it this morning, as you can see from the picture above.  This is the "Baby Einstein" brand bouncer/play station.  They have a couple of "exersaucers" at his daycare and he really likes them.  He loves being up, and he loves bouncing.  This seemed like the best of both worlds.  There are lots of neat toys on it, and lots places to add new toys.  Boo really seems to like it.  The first time we had him in it this morning, he played quite happily for almost a half hour!  That's an eternity to a 4.5 month old.  It's great because it's really easy to play with him while he's in it.  It's rated for up to 25 lb, so I'm thinking he'll be able to have quite a lot of fun for quite a long time.  It's also got 6 height settings, and currently he's using it on the shortest.

Anyhow, today was a good, mostly lazy kind of day.  We played, ran a few quick errands and played some more.  There were a few melt down moments, but usually due to the attack of the nap monster.

Well, I think this is where I'm going to end this today.  I really don't want to think about work, and that's all that I've really got left to talk about.

Peace to all and may you have great weekends and great toys.

Boo and His Ball

Boo&Ball
Originally uploaded by Addey Rat.

(I meant to post about this last night... but forgot...)
So, this picture, taken a month ago now, is of Boo playing with one of his favorite toys. This is an Oball that was sent to him by a family friend. He loves the ball. We love the ball. It keeps him occupied, happy and exploring his world.
That is until about 2 weeks ago now.
It went missing.
For over a week.
Luckily, after doing a quick Google search, I found this wonderful toy store, Fat Brain Toys. I can't say enough good things about this company. They stock so many really cool and really fun toys and they're all educational in some way, shape or form. You can search their site by age, type of toy and all kinds of things. For those who want to buy toys from a specific country (or Not China), they even give you search options for that too. They tell you what country the toy is made in and all kinds of other information. They carry things that you'd never find anywhere else, at least not for these prices. I was so happy with my shopping experience. (And yes, if anyone is looking to buy him something for the holidays, this would be a great place to look...)
But, anyhow, back to the ball. Since the ball went missing, and we'd seen a cool one that Daniel has while there for his birthday, I had to order two new balls. I ordered a new one that was the same size as the one he has as well as one that has rattles in four of the rings.
Of course, two days after I order the new balls, I find his old one. It was hiding in the drawer under the crib... the one filled with sheets and blankets. I'm guessing Zoe thought she was being helpful and put it away when she was over the week it went missing.
The balls arrived on Wednesday. Let me tell you, the rattle ball is a hit. We love these balls for their bright colors, their light weight and great design. Boo can pick them up with no problems at all and wrap his fist around one or more of the rings. It's funny to watch him try and shove it in his mouth. He can get it up to his mouth, but hasn't figured out how to chew on it yet. Instead, he spends a lot of time licking the rings. It's really cute.
I'll try and get pictures of him with the new ones. But let me tell you, I'm glad we've got three now. The rattle and original stay at home, the other new one stays in the diaper bag.
Well, I'd better get back to work....
Peace to all and may there be wonderful toys in your life.

Checkups

Well, yesterday was Boo's 4.5 month check-up. It went very well. As usual he's got all the ladies in the office charmed as soon as we show up. Everyone is impressed at how big he's getting and how cute he is.

Here's the vital stats. He put on just shy of 1lb to come in at a hefty 15lb, 15 oz. He grew an amazing 1.25 inches to 25.75 inches tall! He's getting long and lean. He also received 3 immunizations and decided to bleed all over Momma's shirt while she held him to comfort him after. That's OK. He actually settled down fairly quickly this time.

His doctor felt all around in his mouth and she couldn't feel any possible teeth. I guess that just means Sunday and Monday were just bad days. We'll have those. (I thought the front of his bottom gums were looking a little whiter then they were, but I was probably just searching for some reason why he was so miserable but had no fever or any other symptoms of not feeling well.)

Boo has had quite a good couple of days. He's been pretty happy and content most of the time. He even stayed up until almost 8:30 tonight! Well, he snoozed for a bit and wasn't really fully awake until then, but still. We went on our walk with Chris and Diane tonight. It was fun, if a little cool and quite dark. I'm not too sure how thrilled I am with the idea of walking after dark. Oh well, it got me out of the house and gave me a chance to see some of my friends.

Work is still work. It continues to go. I haven't let too many balls hit me in the head, so I think I'm doing OK. I'm beginning to loose my focus though, and that's never a good thing. I'll try much harder tomorrow to get it back. There are still plenty of things that need my attention and the end of the month is approaching way to quickly.

It's funny, but as fast as October seems to be speeding away in regards to work, it still feels like the election is a million years away and I just can't wait for it all to be over with so I won't come home to a dozen "missed calls" from "Unknown" on my phone. I really let one caller have it who had called around 8:30 the other night. Unfortunately, it was just one of those dialers with no one or no message on the other end. It felt good when I was yelling at someone for calling late enough to wake my boy, but disappointing to know I really wasn't yelling at anyone. I so hate these calls. Maybe I should register with a party just so I'll only get half the calls than I do now... Bah.

Well, that's enough politics for me.

How about dem Phillies?! For the first time in 15 years they've made it to the big series. It looks like Tampa will be the American League representative this year. I hope they're good games. Deep down, I really do hope the Phillies win, even though I'm nice and say "just so long as they're good games it doesn't matter..." Baloney. Philly hasn't won a major championship in any of the big four in 25 years. I'm not sure of any other city with four big league teams that hasn't had some kind of win. Well, we did have the Philadelphia Soul win the Arena Football championship. Too bad the Eagles aren't following suit. (You've got to love a team owned by Jon BonJovi.... I mean... he's all grown up and still that hot!... sorry Gak.... but you're still the one and only for me!)

Anyhow, I think I've rambled on long enough. I'd written a post Tuesday while I was at lunch, but I don't think I want to post it. (Besides, it's sitting on the hard drive of my work laptop and well... it's at work...) I needed to get a few things about life off my chest and I did... I just don't think I need everyone else reading it. At one point when writing it, maybe. But two days later... I think it's better hidden on my hard drive.

Well, I'm off to finish my book. (I'm finally getting a chance to read Hoot, you know, the book that the movie was based off a few years back with Jimmie Buffett in it. It's pretty good and a little surprising for a teen book, but mostly in good ways.)

Peace to all and may your sports teams win, your loved ones thrive and work be tolerable.

The Good and The Not-So-Good

Well, unfortunately for Gak and Gramma Sue, Boo wasn't having all that good of a day yesterday.

Sunday was a good day, mostly.  He didn't want to be put down and really, really wanted to be "up".  So, we took a couple of walks.  (Oh, darn, the weather was beautiful.)  He did take several short naps, even letting Momma and Daddy get ones themselves (at different times) and a little snuggle time at "shfit change".

It's really hard to see any change in his mouth, but I'm really pretty sure he's got two teeth coming in.  He was very, very, very cranky most of yesterday.  Again, he didn't want to be put down or even lay in Daddy's arms.  He wanted "up".  Gak ended up wearing him in the carry pouch a good portion of the morning.  He oscilated between very cranky and all smiles in the afternoon for Gramma Sue.

I almost hate to admit it, but he was an angel for me most of the evening.  (I only hate to admit it after such a cranky day for Daddy and Gramma Sue...)  He had a few fussy moments, but he and I watched most of the Tampa at Boston game.  (Go Rays!)  He even let me put him in his bouncy for a bit so I could get some supper (two hot dogs wraped in tortillias with cheese and nuked).  Before that, he even was content to lay on the sofa playing with me and some of his toys for a good long bit.  It was just almost 7:30 before he declared bedtime.  So, bedtime it was!

Oh, I guess you're wondering about the picture at the top of the post.

This picture is from Sunday.  Yes, no one is holding him up.  No, Boo did not push himself into a sitting position.  No, he can't hold that position long.  Yes, he can sit much better than he could just a week ago.

Boo still isn't very interested in rolling over yet.  He makes some vauge attempts while playing on his back and wants to reach for something.  He doesn't really think about it when he's on his tummy, unless he's too tired of pushing up.  He doesn't resist when and stiffen up when I roll him over though, so that's a start.  He'll get there soon enough.  Probably too soon.  It's just so neat to watch him discover these things.  It really is a wonderful thing.

As for me, well, it's October.  It's crunch time.  We're halfway through though.  It hasn't been quite as painful as it could be, but again we're halfway through and these things have a habit of turning suddenly and becoming hell on earth.

One good bit of news though.  For the first time in just over 8 years, I've been rewarded by my boss for a good job.  (Well, maybe the second.  About 4 years ago now my then boss Bert pushed like crazy to get me a very sizable raise, but it was mostly to bring my pay up closer to where everyone elese's is.  Although, if I hadn't been a good performer, he wouldn't have pushed for it.)

I went into work yesterday and opened my email.  And there was a surprise waiting for me.  A voucher for $100 to the corporate gift certificate site.  I almost didn't believe it.  But there it was!  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.  The title of the "award" is 'Dinner for Two', but with the places on the list and the way Gak and I order, $100 would cover 4 of us...  So, I'm thinking about a $50 card at a resteraunt Gak and I like and $50 either at L.L. Bean or Barnes and Noble.  Either one would be nice.  I just have to decide.  There were lots of options.  I'm almost glad though, that none of the "baby" ones were to places I go to.  As much as I love spoiling (or trying to spoil) my little boy, I need to remember to spoil myself a little bit too.  (Besides, he'll get to enjoy the dinner too, just later...)

This just goes to show that there has been a huge shift in management, at all levels.  The business manager has been here not quite a year and already he's made many changes for the better.  I think we've finally got a good one.  Our first business leader under corporate wasn't much older than I was at the time (and this was 6 years ago...) and she just didn't have the experience or skills to handle the job well.  The second was much older, much more set in his ways and wasn't quite flexable or approachable enough.  This guy, I like.  He's young, but not too young.  (His youngest is a senior in high school.)  He's tough and strict about things when he has to be.  If you mess up, he'll call you on it.  But more in the way of a favorite coach or understanding parent.  He has a sense of humor (lacking in the second guy...) and is friendly and approachable with problems.  You want to do well for this guy.

And I think that my manager will sucessfully make the transition from engineer to leader.  He demands a lot from us, but no more than he knows we're capable of.  He pushes us to be better, sometimes well, sometimes he's a little arrogant, but that's just him.

Eep!  I just looked at the clock.  I've got to get dressed and wake up Boo.

Spell check will have to wait.

Peace to all and may you get your just deserts and may your loved ones have good days.

Little Balls of Stress

This is how I feel this week.  I actually took this picture last Saturday.  I was quite impressed at how little bink was still in his mouth, but it hadn't fallen out.  (We don't give him a bink often, but he was really being quite fussy and some days, it's the only thing that will get him to actually calm down enough to let the nap monster win... and trust me, he needs his naps!)

This week has been long, frustrating, mostly productive and mostly just exhausting.  Although, this is one of the few times that I well and truly wished that I actually got overtime.  I could use a couple more hours pay and I definitely have enough work to keep me occupied for a couple of hours both yesterday and today.  (I might actually get something accomplished without other people there to bug me with a million little questions and things they need me to look at...)

Just a few more weeks of this and then we're out of reporting month.  Although, I have no clue about half the training projects that are coming up for the rest of the quarter.  I still feel so very, very disorganized.  And this isn't something where you can just clear everything off your desk into the trash bin and completely clear the calendar and start over.  Nope, I've got to figure out what's still owed, what state of completion the project is in, who to talk to and who to send.  It's becoming more and more of a nightmare.  At least the new manager is bugging me about it.  That's both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because hopefully it'll help me let less fall through the cracks.  A curse because he keeps interrupting what I was working on to chase my tail about something else.  Ugh.  Oh well, I'm sure it'll even itself out over the next several months.  

I'm just so not looking forward to all of this.  I keep dreading what's going to happen after Boo's first birthday.  I know they're going to want me on the road again, and I'm just terrified it'll be all the time.  I hope that by then I'll have gotten good enough at scheduling others and being truly the administrator of this whole mess that I'll only have to take the occasional trip.  I can never go back to what I was doing.  It was hard enough when it was just me and Gak.  I couldn't look into that little face of my son, who wouldn't understand at all what's going on, and leave him for 3-5 days a week, every week.
I know, there are people out there who can and do, but I'm not one of them.

Ok, enough of this depressing talk.  Boo's birthday is still more than half a year away.  He's growing too fast as it is.

I think I know what part of his cranky problem has been the last week or so.  I think, but I'm not 100% sure, that I see two little teeth trying to poke through.  Yes, it is a bit early to be getting teeth.  Although, he is almost 4.5 months old, and some babies get teeth as early as 4 months.  Part of me hopes he isn't though.  I really am not looking forward to him having to re-learn how to nurse and not bite.  I hope we don't have to go through that.  It'll just be frustrating for everyone involved.

Today was a good day overall though.  We've got some beautiful fall weather going on right now.  He behaved wonderfully doing laundry and even took a long enough nap that I could fold his clothes there, instead of waiting until he took a nap at home.  He took a nice long nap (almost a whole hour!) this afternoon.  He was a happy, if clingy, baby most of the day.  Life is good.

Well, I'm off to find a snack and my book.  That is, unless Spore claims me...  I have a like/dislike relationship with the game.  Some of the controls are a little odd, especially after playing EQII for so long.  (No, I haven't logged in there for way too long...)  As my brother said to me in a note, I was hoping to play more like Charles Darwin than God.  But, it's addictingly fun in an odd, quarky and somewhat limited way.  I can play around with something for a half hour or an hour and enjoy myself.  I guess that makes it a good game overall then.

Well, peace to all and my you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Working Woes

Doesn't my boy look too cute?  This picture is courtesy of Gramma Sue.  Monday evening was bath night.  He was so good and so happy until it was time to put the PJs on.  Then he realized it was bedtime and became very fussy and would not be consoled until the PJs were on, the lights were out and he was having a bedtime snack.  I swear, there's a little switch in his head that flips at 8:00pm and sends him into "bedtime" mode.

Anyhow, I guess I'd better catch up with the happenings this week, as it's already Wednesday.  Urg.  Monday was a bit of a busy day at work, which I was expecting.  It is reporting month after all and I'm responsible for getting 7 of the around 40 reports we're contracted to do by customers out the door.  Of course, I'm given a slightly smaller number than some in the group that does them because I've got so many other responsibilities and haven't done them much in the past 4 years.  (But I still know more than most of the department.... which means I end up assisting on almost half of them at some point...)  Unfortunately, one of my current responsibility is a brand new unit.  As in, their first date of commercial operation (when the first went "on the grid") was in July.  The good news is that it is a pretty simple site and they already have an identical unit there.  The bad news is, one of the certification tests wasn't done.  The good news is the customer is very nice and the even better news is that our mistake isn't going to cost them any downtime.  The bad news is, I like the guy who messed up and he tried to blame the documentation he got from my friend in the department.  I read the documentation, it doesn't say anything about being exempt from that test anywhere in the document.  Oh well.  I'll let the powers that be settle that one.

Yesterday was also a very long and very tough day.  I was doing "training" for the "new" product leader and one of the sales leaders based out of KC.  Of course, this was supposed to be last Monday, but the KC guy's schedule changed.  Bah.  So, I spent almost half my day fussing with that.  I also have two non-reporting service tickets that are "urgent", received an email from the general box about a ticket that came in Friday, I had no idea I'd been assigned and demanding it be done this week.  I have what seems like 50 but is only about 5 or 10 things to do for training, that are due in two weeks or so and some of which have completely fallen off my radar due to trying to stay afloat of what's going on right now. 

So, needless to say, I was tired.  It was one of those days where if I didn't have to pick up Gak and wasn't lucky enough to have Boo in our lives, I could have easily stayed at work until 8 and still felt like I had too much to do that day.

But, I have way, way, way more important things.  Like my son and husband.  They come first.  The work will get done.  It will get done well and correctly and as on time as possible.  The truly urgent things will be resolved first.  All reporting issues will get cleared up by the deadlines.  Most people will understand, and those that don't, I feel sorry for.

Last night we had people over to do yet another Magic draft.  (I swear, they keep coming out with something every month just to get people to spend money...)  I wasn't too happy about that, as I was exhausted, my shoulders were killing me and I was looking forward to a quiet night at home.  (Gak set it up without me... not remembering exactly how much of a bear reporting month really is.  It would have been better if everyone came over at 8 after Boo was in bed instead of 7, which is right when we got home...)

Anyway, back to the subject at hand, we had people over.  Our friend Chris asked how I liked being back at work, now that I've been back a while.

My response: "I hate it."

Well, hate is a very strong word, and probably too strong.  I very strongly dislike being at work instead of home with the boy is probably a better way to say it.  I told him he asked me in the wrong month, because this is crunch time at work and is super stressful to begin with.  (See above rant...)  I mean, I do enjoy being able to get out of the house.  I do, somewhat, enjoy knowing that by being at work I'm providing the best I can for my family.  (I'd rather not have to though...)  I enjoy being able to see my friends.  I mean, I haven't been able to spend much, if any, time with my real life or online friends in a long time, but especially since returning to work.  At least when I wasn't back at work, I didn't feel like every second I was away from Boo was a wasted chance.

I guess what I dislike most about work is being away.  I'm terrified.  I'm not terrified of something bad happening to my son while I'm away, but the opposite.  I'm scared that I won't get to see him roll over for the first time, or learn to crawl, say his first real words or take his first steps.  I don't want to miss any of these milestones, but I know I will, at least some.  And no matter what, I can't help but be jealous that Gak gets to spend so much time with Boo while he's awake.  I'm scared that eventually Boo will stop turning to me for comfort.  I'm worried that Gak's not "doing it right" and that they'll spend too much time in front of the TV and not enough time playing.  (No, I don't say this much to Gak because I really, really, don't want to sound like "that mom" and become a horrible, terrible Nag.)  I know they get plenty of play time, but still... I know my husband, the TV is his Siren's Call....  (Of course, we were raised very differently with regards to TV, it was never on much in my house, as opposed to almost always on and the "babysitter" in his.... somewhere in the middle is probably good, but we have different definitions of "middle".)  I'm just scared that no matter what I do, what Gak does, we're somehow short changing Boo.  I guess it's just yet another fear that goes with parenthood.  I guess that means we're doing it right, or at least tyring our best to.

Anyway, I've been rambling on long enough.  It's almost 6:45 now and I've got to finish getting ready for work so I can wake Boo and feed him before I head off to work.  I miss him so much when I'm there.

Peace to all and may your work be easy and your heart light.

That's It!

Subtitle: I just can't win today.

Actually, today started out fairly well. I got to sleep in until almost 8. Boo slept in until just a little after 8. I made waffles for breakfast and the new recipe is yummy. (I used half whole wheat and half regular flour and brown sugar instead of white.) Boo had a good morning and a nice morning nap.
Gak and I even got some cleaning/straightening up done while Boo napped. After that Boo and I went and did laundry and Gak cleaned the bathroom a bit and did the floors. (The dust bunny colony under the crib has been evicted.)
We even finally got the too large dishwasher out of the apartment. (Mike's putting it up on Ebay for us...) We also did a quick grocery run. Boo had a good feeding around 4 and slept for almost an hour!
So far this sounds like a wonderful day, and it was. The weather was perfect. (I wouldn't have used the dryers at all if I'd had a close line to put stuff up on...) Boo was having a good, although very slightly clingy, day. We got stuff done that had been bugging us for a while.
Well, I start to get supper ready and Boo wakes up. No big deal, Daddy will keep him occupied. Well, maybe not. Boo woke up a happy little boy but within minutes melted down into hysterics. Changed the diaper, no help there. He just woke up and had eaten only an hour ago. (He had eaten very well, so I truly doubt he was hungry.) He just was not a happy camper. While Gak manages to somehow console our little man, I manage to get dinner in the oven and the dishwasher started. A chicken to roast and a kugle. It has been a long while since I've made either, but no biggy. I had picked up the chicken, ready to bake, a few weeks back, but put it in the freezer because I knew I wouldn't be able to use it that day. I took it out Friday morning before work figuring by today it would be thawed. (It's not a very big bird, enough for the two of us with enough leftovers for a lunch.)
Fast forward just shy of an hour to about 6:00. Boo's being fussy, but Gak's got him mostly happy for the moment. (He was in his bouncy and alternately giggling like crazy or fussing and out of sorts.) I check and the kugle is burnt on top. Crap. (For those who don't know, kugle is a Jewish noodle casserole and there are as many recipes as there are cooks...) That's OK. The whole thing isn't burnt, it's just extra, extra crispy on top. I take it out, but leave the bird in. (The kugle went in about 20 minutes after the bird, so I knew the bird needed a little more time...) I set the table and take the bird out. I futs around for a few more minutes to let the bird rest and then move it to the cutting board to carve. Well, the first challenge was getting it out of the cooking bag. The skin stuck quite well in places, but that's OK. Then the first wing fell off nicely when I barely poked at it. The leg was being a bit more stubborn, then I noticed that it wasn't cooked all the way and the juices now flowing were decidedly not clear. Crap. The bird isn't done. It was still frozen in the middle.
Well, after a consoling call to my mom, I put the bird back in the oven and go play with my son a bit. After a bit, he gets fussy again, and I realize that he's probably hungry. So I feed him and he falls asleep. (Yes, he'll probably wake up just in time to go back to sleep...) I then go check on dinner.
I forgot to turn the oven back on.
Triple crap.
I announce to Gak that it's a fend for yourself night, the chicken will be leftovers. So, I'm finishing up a ham and cheese sandwich instead of a nice chicken dinner.
Oh well, these days will happen.

Oh, posts may be a little sporadic from me for the next few weeks. (As if you haven't noticed by my 4 day absence...) It's crunch time at work and so I have even less energy than usual.
Yes, I do have some more pictures of Boo from this week.
No, you won't see them today. With my luck this evening.... *shudder*

Oh, and Spore is as evil and addicting as any Maxis Sim game. After getting the game from my brother on Thursday, I've fiddled around with it quite a bit and have moved on to the "creature" phase on a planet. The biologist in me is both loving and hating parts of it. It's neat that there are different "levels" to the features, but what you did last time with your creature doesn't really make a difference this time. Oh well, it's a game and a cool and fun one at that. Maybe I'll get some screen shots of that too... who knows.

Anyhow, I'm off to see if the chicken is done now and to check on my boy, I think he's waking.

Peace to all and may your adventures work.

Four Months!

Can you believe my son is four months old today? I can't, and I'm his momma! He's getting so big. Here is the monthly photo shoot of Boo with his big dragon. No, he's not really sitting on his own, he's wedged in pretty good between the dragon's head and arm. (Boo wasn't quite awake for this... he'd been sleeping in his car seat when I picked him up for this, that's why no smiles...)

I found a picture on my phone of the first time that Gak had Boo in the carry pouch on our evening walk. You can't see Boo's head at all, just the hat that I'd perched there and his little tiny legs sticking out of the bottom. You can't see his arms because they're snug inside the pouch. Now, he rides facing the world and fills the pouch well. (I'd share it here, but I can't seem to convince this phone to actually send pictures out. I gave up arguing with it a while ago, it's usually not that important.

Anyhow, he's been doing very well at daycare. Gak's surviving being with him in the mornings. He's learning the signals of when Boo thinks it is acceptable to be put down for a little bit and when that would be the end of the world. Maybe one of these days between the two of us, we'll get this place looking almost respectable again. Aww... who am I kidding? That'll never happen. (And I'll just get pissier and crankier about it until I take care of something with intentions of getting the rest done, which won't happen... lather, rinse, repeat.)

Today was also the beginning of reporting month. I'm not really looking forward to it. I've got a ton of service work that will need to get done, and a bunch of training stuff to get done as well. I have no idea how it'll all get done, but it will. It always does sooner or later, preferably sooner rather than later.

Other than that, things are going well. I think we might have truly hit fall now. Some of the trees are changing. It seems like they've changed almost overnight. The nights are getting cooler and the days not so warm. I just wish my office wasn't freezing cold. I hate the change in seasons, it wreaks havoc with the heating/air conditioning. It is also rainy a lot now. That's a sure sign of fall. Oh well, we could use the rain, but I feel like I'm going to mildew soon. We had a few nice days on Monday and Tuesday, but today was damp again. We'll see what the rest of the week brings.

I don't really have anything else to say. I mostly wanted to post the picture of Boo and be dumbfounded at the fact that he's 1/3rd of a year old already!

Peace to all and may your lives be full and happy.